Did you know that one of the most versatile trees, the Palmyrah Palm, a dioecious tree, is known for its 800 uses, apart from repugnant (?) distinction of its extract used as Toddy, an intoxicating drink prepared by the fermentation of the sap?
Palmyrah Palm with botanical name Borassus flabellifer in the family of Arecaceae, a monotypic genus of sugar palms, is native to India, tropical Africa, and naturalized throughout the tropics and having fan-shaped leaves and very hard wood. The plant is a selection from the more diverse Borassus aethiopum Mart. of Africa which got distributed following Indian trade routes in prehistoric times. In India, its distribution encompasses the dry
landscape of the semi arid regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In fact, it is the official tree of Tamil Nadu and very highly regarded in Tamil culture, called as "katpaha tharu ( (celestial tree)", because all its parts have a use. Panaiveriyamman, named after panai, the Tamil name for the Palmyra palm, is an ancient tree deity related to fertility linked to this palm. This deity is also known as Taalavaasini, a name that further relates her to all types of palms. In the native literature of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, Palymrah is claimed to be originated at least 540 years before the Christian era. Tamil Nadu has the distinction of having 51.9 million palms out of nearly 102 million palms in the country (Sri Lanka comes next with more than 11 million trees); In Tamil Nadu, palms are concentrated in the southern district of Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli,Virudhunagar and Ramnad districts, while Thoothukudi district alone has a major share of 10 million palms. In Indian languages, it is called Lekhyapatra in Sanskrit, Panaimaram, or Panai in Tamil, Talimara or Oleyagida in Kannada, and Taal Patali (তাল পাটালী) in Bengali. In the poetic words of Rabindranth Tagore, the nursery rhyme 'Taal Gaach ek Paye daariye' (তাল গাছ এক পায়ে দাড়িয়ে., literally meaning Palmyra tree standing on a single leg ... ) in Sahaj Path (সহজ পাঠ) is a popular reading text in most schools in West Bengal and Bangladesh. Even in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, a Palmyrah Palm tree is symbolized as the chariot-banner.
Borassus means 'sugar palms' , while Flabellifer or Flabelliformis is a compound word of two Latin words Flabelli and formis, meaning fan formed leaves. It is a very tall, dioecious tree, a single stemmed very green tree like a coconut tree, not branched, that grows to 20 to 30 m height. It is also known as toddy palm, wine palm, doub palm, tala palm or ice palm. The crown is composed of approximately 60 large, fan-shaped leaves. Its male and female flowers are distinct, and also on separate trees and the male flowers have six stamens. Pollination takes place through insects and wind. 120-130 days is required for the fertilized female flowers to mature into ripe fruits. The fruits are round, fleshy drupe, 15-20 cm in diameter and weight 1-3 kg. It is spherical in shape with flat bottom and green in colour turn to dark purple or black when ripe. Mesocarp is edible, fibrous and yellowish in colour which surrounds the one to three hard coated seeds. The endocarp is hard. The endosperm is sweet and gelatinous when seed is young but it becomes hard as the fruit matures. Endosperm contain fats, protein, oils but no starch. Each tree can produce 200-
300 fruits produced annually.
In India, it grows in all types of soil though deep sandy and loamy soil is preferred. It requires minimum sunlight for its growth and development, and is seen growing well in elevations above 80 m. An annual rainfall of 750mm is required but can also grow in regions with rainfall upto 250 mm.
Toddy is a (unsavoury?) drink prepared by the fermentation of its sap. Usually, tapping is done on mature palm tree of 25 years old. Sap is harvested just before the inflorescences open. The leaves are removed at the time of tapping so that tapper could easily reach the inflorences. After removing the flower buds in male palms, inflorescences (usually about 12) are tied together. Usually three to four days after cutting the tops of the stalks of the
inflorescences, a bucket is hung which is supported by a basket (usually hanging earthen pots and in some regions plastic or bamboo bottle). Individual inflorescences are handled in female palm where flowers are broken off and bent towards the bucket to increase the sap flow. This is normally carried out early in the morning. To prevent fermentation, some slaked lime is added in the sap but this also affects the flavour. Yield of the sap depends
on the skill and technique used by the tapper. Juice tends to be very sweet and non-alcoholic before it is fermented; the unfermented sap is called neera (pathaneer in Tamil Nadu). This juice, after fermentation becomes sour, and is called Toddy or Kollu, an alcoholic beverage.
Palmyra palm has many traditional medicinal uses. One of which is its anthelmintic and diuretic young roots. Heartburn and enlarged spleen and liver can be treated using the ash of the flower. Sap from the flower stalk is tonic, diuretic, stimulant, laxative, amoebicide, and anti-phlegmatic among others.
Traditionally, the different parts of the plant such as root, leaves, seed, fruit are used for various purposes. Usefulness of every part of the Palmyrah Palm is succinctly expressed in this statement by a writer: “Ask a man to cut down his Palmyrah Tre or Coconut Tree, he would invariably say : “ What! Destroy that which gives me food? from which I have thatch for my house to defend me from the sun and rain,? which gives me oil for my lamp, a ladle for my kitchen, and charcoal for my fire,? from which I have sugar for my board, baskets for my fruits, a bucket for my well, a mat for my bed, a pouch for my betel-leaf, leaves for my books, a fence for my yard and a broom for my house? Destroy such a tree !Go to some needy wretch who has pledged his jewel, and who is anxious to eat his last meal." Its uses are claimed to be 800.
The Palmyrah Palm trees is said to cyclone resistant (standing firm even in severe storms) has thus ecological and economic value, aids biodiversity conservation and is climate resilient. The palms
provide opportunity for increasing the employment and also provide a source of income to the poor in the rural areas. Hence integrated development of Palmyrah products and creating awareness regarding the crop are essential to maximize the economic value and area of the crop.
Narasipur Char
